Would you buy a car from Amazon?

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Few consumer product segments are too tough for Amazon, and Germany's Automobilwoche reports this week that the online retail powerhouse is moving into car sales. The online retailer is said to be assembling a Belgium-based business unit that will allow the retailer to offer cars in Europe.

Amazon Vehicles has already offered three Fiat models in Italy, acting as an online sales service, with buyers able to pick up the car from a regular dealership within two weeks after choosing from four preset option packages. It now appears the Italy effort was a trial run for a wider business unit launch. Amazon offered the Fiat 500, 500L and the Panda hatchback online, models chosen for their appeal with younger buyers. Consumer research in Italy showed that roughly half of all Italians were willing to buy a car online.

"It is only a question of time before Amazon gets rolling," one market analyst told Automobilwoche. "No industry, no business is too tough for Amazon."

The move is not unprecedented; other automakers, most notably Volvo in the United States, have experimented with concierge sales online , with the only dealership interaction being delivery to the buyer. Volvo expressed optimism for the concept, given the evolving consumer preferences for online purchases big and small, as well as societal changes. Several automakers view online sales as an inevitability given the tastes and comfort of millennials with online purchases of big-ticket items -- and their distaste for time-consuming and not completely transparent buying processes at traditional car dealerships. After all, people have bought and sold new cars on eBay Motors for years.

Volvo plans to offer its lineup of cars online, according to a report from Reuters. But the company isn't ditching the concept of franchised dealerships entirely -- the cars will still be ...

Amazon has already launched a consumer research portal, and the company is reportedly offering test drives of Mercedes-Benz models as a part of a ramp-up to a large-scale launch, a component that will effectively remove the need to visit a traditional dealership for this part of the sales process. The first challenge is building a replacement for the test-drive aspect of the traditional dealership experience -- automakers in the process of planning online sales envision dealerships adopting the role of repair and service stations, new car storage centers and test-drive providers. The sales aspect is expected by some to move entirely online, a step up from photo-realistic online vehicle configurators already available on every automaker's website.

Amazon has stayed mum regarding the launch of this business unit in Europe, and timing remains murky. But baby steps toward online car buying, evidenced by the sales of Fiat models in Italy and the launch of the Amazon Vehicles research portal, suggest that next-day home delivery of a new car is not too far in the future.